Photo: ChristopherLStewart30 · CC BY-SA 4.0Households in Humboldt have lower incomes than those in 84% of U.S. towns
Working from home is the commute for 3% of workers, against 13% across Tennessee. Poverty touches 13.3% of residents, next to 13.8% for Tennessee as a whole. The two grades for Humboldt are C− for jobs and income and C− for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Humboldt, in a few figures
Humboldt trades workers with the towns around it
Humboldt has about as many jobs (3,540) as working residents (3,046), but they are mostly different people: 2,512 residents leave for work each day while 3,006 people come in. Only 15% of the jobs in Humboldt are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Commutes from Humboldt are quick
The average trip to work takes 18 minutes, against 26 across Tennessee. That’s about 61 hours a year less on the road than the typical Tennessee worker. Time on the road ↓
Humboldt and Jackson trade workers both ways
Jackson is the top workplace for Humboldt residents (28%) and also where the most people who work in Humboldt come from (11% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Few Humboldt workers work from home
Only 3% of workers work from home, against 13% across Tennessee. Almost everyone here travels to a job. Time on the road ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Humboldt
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Humboldt is better than 25% of U.S. towns, #125 of 177 in Tennessee. Job access by car holds Humboldt’s grade up (ahead of 56% of U.S. towns); household income pulls it down ($52,917, U.S. $80,734).
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Humboldt could be anywhere from D to B.
How a workday changes Humboldt
On a workday 2,512 residents head out to work, 534 work right here, and 3,006 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.16 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Getting to work from Humboldt takes about 18 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Humboldt workers work from home, vs 13% across Tennessee. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,119 commuters (the 3% who work from home are left out). Across Tennessee: 87% drive alone, <1% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
28% of working residents work in Jackson
Where Humboldt clocks in
28% of workers
6% of workers
5% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
31% of the jobs in Humboldt make or build things
3,540 jobs are based in Humboldt.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Humboldt, 2013 → 2023: 3,841 → 3,540. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.
Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Humboldt’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Where in the region Humboldt works
About 20% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
The commute in Humboldt is mostly behind the wheel
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Humboldt is more walkable than 22% of U.S. towns, #133 of 177 in Tennessee. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: hardly any commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 2.0% across Tennessee.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 3,203 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 12.6% of Humboldt households have no vehicle (Tennessee 5.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Humboldt’s commuters take a bus or train.
Humboldt places 2,439th of 3,026 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 5,500 to 10,600
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 221 | Signal Mountain TN | 8,824 | $141K | 3.3% | 2.4% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 333 | Harrison TN | 8,011 | $89K | 3.9% | 1.4% | 1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 375 | Tellico Village TN | 7,414 | $107K | 3.3% | 1.9% | 9% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 2,437 | Fruitridge Pocket CA | 6,095 | $63K | 30.7% | 12.3% | 1% | C |
| 2,438 | Rainbow City AL | 10,406 | $56K | 10.0% | 10.3% | 9% | C− |
| 2,439 | Humboldt TN | 7,841 | $53K | 13.3% | 6.1% | 18% | C− |
| 2,440 | Lander WY | 7,379 | $75K | 9.5% | 7.4% | 52% | C− |
| 2,441 | Garden City GA | 10,513 | $48K | 12.8% | 8.6% | 8% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,026 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Humboldt, the top three, the last and three more from Tennessee.
Next door to Humboldt
Jobs & commute next door
Darker towns draw more of Humboldt’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Humboldt: questions
What is the median household income in Humboldt?
$52,917 (±$9,469) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $69,595 across Tennessee and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Humboldt?
13.3%, against 13.8% across Tennessee and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Humboldt?
18 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Tennessee and 26 nationally. 3% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Humboldt work?
18% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Jackson (28%, 12 mi), Union City (6%, 42 mi), Milan (5%, 10 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Humboldt walkable?
Humboldt is more walkable than 22% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 6.9 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Humboldt without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 13% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Humboldt, from the people who make the trip.
More of Humboldt
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.